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rainbowfic2021-01-17 09:23 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2021-01-17 09:23 pm
Snow White #11, Ecru #9 [Divide & Rule]
Name: Austerity Gamble
Story: Divide & Rule/Heroes of the Revolution
Colors: Snow White #11 (straw into gold), Ecru #9 (prefer)
Supplies and Styles: Eraser + Pastels (hc_bingo square “Forced to face past trauma” + genprompt_bingo square “Factories and other industrial spaces”)
Word Count: 1543
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: Edward Iveson/Julia Graves, Hanne Graves, John Iveson, Elizabeth Iveson. 1947 AU (so, the history isn’t AU in this AU). Anyway, I realised I had never done an AU where John Iveson lives, and then this happened, which is technically that but it grew into a novella that was not at all about John, so have this bit here, which is mostly the Prologue, plus a bit of ch1.
Summary: Hanne Graves arrives at the Iveson house with an unexpected request.
***
John Iveson studied his bookshelves, raising a hand to run along the edges of the spines, lost in the pleasurable indecision of which volume to read next. His wife Elizabeth was elsewhere in the house, busy organising her annual spring clean, despite all the odds of shortages and rationing that were ranged against her.
A tap on the door made him turn. Elizabeth was standing there with hair out of place and she hadn’t removed her overall, both unusual evidence of distraction. John straightened up and waited for her explanation.
“John,” she said, barely repressed irritation in her tone. “Hanne Graves is here, and she has an absurd proposition – well, you talk to her!”
Hanne slipped in past Elizabeth, holding out her hands to greet John. She smiled at him as he took them and kissed her cheek. She was some years younger than both of them and battling against the times to dress well. Today she was wearing a grey-blue suit that was in a style that predated the war and must be wearing thin at the edges, but the expert cut still told.
“It isn’t an unreasonable suggestion,” Hanne said, as Elizabeth left. “It’s a perfectly sensible one and, if I’d only thought of it before, it would have made everything easier. I can’t see why Elizabeth won’t agree.”
John drew back. “Agree with what, dare I ask?”
“That my Julia should marry your Ned,” said Hanne calmly and then sat down on the chair placed in front of the desk.
John dropped back down into his own chair, pausing to recover breath before managing some kind of response. “Any, ah, particular reason?”
John wasn’t sure if Julia and Edward had even met as adults for any real length of time. Elizabeth had always been close to Hanne, and John had often had lunch with Harold Graves in the City when he’d been alive, but of the three Graves children, Edward had known Christy best, although they hadn’t exactly been friends. They’d been far too different.
“Julia wants to be married,” said Hanne, “and I think Ned would be so much better than this other man she’s found. I don’t see there’d be any harm in letting them meet each other properly.”
John paused, blinking, whatever had been on the tip of his tongue lost forever. “I beg your pardon? Julia is already engaged to someone else? Isn’t this whole conversation a little late, in that case?”
“You don’t understand,” said Hanne with a small sigh. “Julia is working as a typist – in one of those dreadful pools, you know? But she’s going to marry this Hall person instead. He’s a widower with a daughter and entirely the wrong sort of person for her. So, I told Julia if she wanted to escape her work that way, I could find someone better and thought of Ned nearly at once. I don’t see it’s such a dreadful idea!”
John leant forward. “Hanne,” he said softly. “We can’t stop them from making mistakes. They have the right to do that for themselves. As to engineering a meeting, Ned is in Northumberland at the moment and will be for some months.”
Hanne nodded. “I know. He came to see me a few weeks ago when he was in town. It was after that I thought of it. He isn’t happy, either, I think.”
“Ah,” said John, covering mild hurt that he hadn’t known Edward had been in town so recently. He shouldn’t, of course – if it was a flying visit, naturally he might have time to call on Hanne in town, but not to make it across to Kent.
He was saved from having to think of anything further with which to dissuade Hanne by the sound of voices in the hallway. Moments later someone else burst into the room, Elizabeth close behind her. The newcomer had a distinct resemblance to Hanne in her fair colouring, but she was younger, taller, and currently with a far more militant set to her chin.
“Julia,” said John, rising to greet her. He stifled unruly and unwise amusement that no one else in the room would appreciate. Edward might have done, but on the other hand, Hanne’s suggestion might well have touched a still sore spot for him. John had not expected such a drama in his study this morning. It was more entertaining than any novel he might have chosen.
Julia Graves stopped in dismay, the determined set of her face fading into confusion as she saw her mother sitting in front of her. “Oh,” she said, and sagged. “I’m too late. Mother, I came to stop you making a fool of us both! Mr Iveson, Mrs Iveson, I’m so sorry. Mother, how could you?”
Hanne stood. “All you needed to do was agree to see Ned.”
“Yes,” said John suddenly, a way out of this impasse striking him. “Of course. Hanne, if you would leave us –? Elizabeth, you’ll look after her, won’t you? I need to talk to Julia – Miss Graves – if you don’t mind.”
Once the study had emptied out, Julia, hanging back by the door, gave him a wary look. “Mr Iveson?”
“I have a solution,” said John. “Or at least, a potential solution. It may not suit you, but your mother said you were working for a typing pool?”
Julia’s cheeks turned pink. “I was,” she said, “but I walked out. I suppose I don’t have to have something any more, but there are a few things I’d rather – well.” She shrugged. “Miss Williams was the outside of enough!”
“Yes, quite,” said John, reaching for his spectacles, and ushering her over towards the desk, and his portable typewriter. “I don’t understand what your Mother is about this time, but I believe we can keep her happy, find you a temporary job, and solve Ned’s current problem, all in one fell swoop and without endangering your engagement, provided you’re willing – and able.”
Julia shot him a bemused look. “Anything that will stop this ridiculous crusade of Mother’s will be fine with me.”
“Staff are hard to come by at the moment,” said John. “Especially with temporary work. Edward is currently up near Newcastle, completing business matters for me, and he could use a secretary. If you’re interested, I’ll put you through your paces now. If not – if it’s too far away, with your fiancé in town – not to worry. I’ll find some way of dissuading Hanne!”
Julia bit her lip, hesitating a few inches from the desk, and before giving a shrug and breaking into a laugh. She sat in front of the typewriter and raised her chin. “Oh, you won’t have any complaint. I’m pretty decent, I promise. My one real weakness is cheeking Miss Williams, and I trust I shall be safe from any danger of that in the wilds of the north!”
Edward shifted his hold on the telephone receiver, leaning forward to catch a pile of paper before it toppled off the desk and missed his father’s next words. “What was that, sorry?”
“I said, have you found someone to do the clerical work yet?”
Edward bit back a sigh. “I’m going to call the agency in Newcastle again. I’m sorry, I’ve been a little distracted and it’s not easy to find someone willing to come all the way out here – and stay. Look, may I talk to you about Matthews? We’re still having problems on that front –”
“Of course,” said John on the other end, “but the point is, I’ve found someone. If you’re willing, she can start on Thursday. Julia Graves – you know, Hanne’s daughter.”
Edward frowned, instantly wary of good fortune. “I do need someone who can actually type, you know. If this is a charity case –”
“Ned,” said his father, sounding affronted. “I hope you would know me better than that. She seems a capable young lady to me. Of course, if you would rather select someone yourself, that is your prerogative. It merely seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone – Julia needs some temporary work and you need a clerical assistant. There is what you might call a third bird, but that shouldn’t be of any importance.”
Edward kicked himself. After all, his father could be said to have made his whole business a means of helping people out constructively while also making a profit where he could. Finding someone who could fill in as secretary here who was also a family friend in need of help was typical of him. Of course, whether or not Julia Graves would be willing to stay in a remote Northumberland village only time would tell. Five other temporary clerical workers had not.
“Sorry,” Edward said. “Of course. Thursday. Thank you, Father.”
John, on the other end, relaxed. Edward could hear the smile in his voice. “Good. Now, what is this about Matthews again?”
Edward needed no further prompting, and the subject occupied the rest of the telephone call. It was only after replacing the receiver in its cradle that he realised he’d never asked his father what he meant by that third bird comment.
Still, as long as Julia Graves could type, what did anything else matter?
***
Story: Divide & Rule/Heroes of the Revolution
Colors: Snow White #11 (straw into gold), Ecru #9 (prefer)
Supplies and Styles: Eraser + Pastels (
hc_bingo square “Forced to face past trauma” + genprompt_bingo square “Factories and other industrial spaces”)Word Count: 1543
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: Edward Iveson/Julia Graves, Hanne Graves, John Iveson, Elizabeth Iveson. 1947 AU (so, the history isn’t AU in this AU). Anyway, I realised I had never done an AU where John Iveson lives, and then this happened, which is technically that but it grew into a novella that was not at all about John, so have this bit here, which is mostly the Prologue, plus a bit of ch1.
Summary: Hanne Graves arrives at the Iveson house with an unexpected request.
***
John Iveson studied his bookshelves, raising a hand to run along the edges of the spines, lost in the pleasurable indecision of which volume to read next. His wife Elizabeth was elsewhere in the house, busy organising her annual spring clean, despite all the odds of shortages and rationing that were ranged against her.
A tap on the door made him turn. Elizabeth was standing there with hair out of place and she hadn’t removed her overall, both unusual evidence of distraction. John straightened up and waited for her explanation.
“John,” she said, barely repressed irritation in her tone. “Hanne Graves is here, and she has an absurd proposition – well, you talk to her!”
Hanne slipped in past Elizabeth, holding out her hands to greet John. She smiled at him as he took them and kissed her cheek. She was some years younger than both of them and battling against the times to dress well. Today she was wearing a grey-blue suit that was in a style that predated the war and must be wearing thin at the edges, but the expert cut still told.
“It isn’t an unreasonable suggestion,” Hanne said, as Elizabeth left. “It’s a perfectly sensible one and, if I’d only thought of it before, it would have made everything easier. I can’t see why Elizabeth won’t agree.”
John drew back. “Agree with what, dare I ask?”
“That my Julia should marry your Ned,” said Hanne calmly and then sat down on the chair placed in front of the desk.
John dropped back down into his own chair, pausing to recover breath before managing some kind of response. “Any, ah, particular reason?”
John wasn’t sure if Julia and Edward had even met as adults for any real length of time. Elizabeth had always been close to Hanne, and John had often had lunch with Harold Graves in the City when he’d been alive, but of the three Graves children, Edward had known Christy best, although they hadn’t exactly been friends. They’d been far too different.
“Julia wants to be married,” said Hanne, “and I think Ned would be so much better than this other man she’s found. I don’t see there’d be any harm in letting them meet each other properly.”
John paused, blinking, whatever had been on the tip of his tongue lost forever. “I beg your pardon? Julia is already engaged to someone else? Isn’t this whole conversation a little late, in that case?”
“You don’t understand,” said Hanne with a small sigh. “Julia is working as a typist – in one of those dreadful pools, you know? But she’s going to marry this Hall person instead. He’s a widower with a daughter and entirely the wrong sort of person for her. So, I told Julia if she wanted to escape her work that way, I could find someone better and thought of Ned nearly at once. I don’t see it’s such a dreadful idea!”
John leant forward. “Hanne,” he said softly. “We can’t stop them from making mistakes. They have the right to do that for themselves. As to engineering a meeting, Ned is in Northumberland at the moment and will be for some months.”
Hanne nodded. “I know. He came to see me a few weeks ago when he was in town. It was after that I thought of it. He isn’t happy, either, I think.”
“Ah,” said John, covering mild hurt that he hadn’t known Edward had been in town so recently. He shouldn’t, of course – if it was a flying visit, naturally he might have time to call on Hanne in town, but not to make it across to Kent.
He was saved from having to think of anything further with which to dissuade Hanne by the sound of voices in the hallway. Moments later someone else burst into the room, Elizabeth close behind her. The newcomer had a distinct resemblance to Hanne in her fair colouring, but she was younger, taller, and currently with a far more militant set to her chin.
“Julia,” said John, rising to greet her. He stifled unruly and unwise amusement that no one else in the room would appreciate. Edward might have done, but on the other hand, Hanne’s suggestion might well have touched a still sore spot for him. John had not expected such a drama in his study this morning. It was more entertaining than any novel he might have chosen.
Julia Graves stopped in dismay, the determined set of her face fading into confusion as she saw her mother sitting in front of her. “Oh,” she said, and sagged. “I’m too late. Mother, I came to stop you making a fool of us both! Mr Iveson, Mrs Iveson, I’m so sorry. Mother, how could you?”
Hanne stood. “All you needed to do was agree to see Ned.”
“Yes,” said John suddenly, a way out of this impasse striking him. “Of course. Hanne, if you would leave us –? Elizabeth, you’ll look after her, won’t you? I need to talk to Julia – Miss Graves – if you don’t mind.”
Once the study had emptied out, Julia, hanging back by the door, gave him a wary look. “Mr Iveson?”
“I have a solution,” said John. “Or at least, a potential solution. It may not suit you, but your mother said you were working for a typing pool?”
Julia’s cheeks turned pink. “I was,” she said, “but I walked out. I suppose I don’t have to have something any more, but there are a few things I’d rather – well.” She shrugged. “Miss Williams was the outside of enough!”
“Yes, quite,” said John, reaching for his spectacles, and ushering her over towards the desk, and his portable typewriter. “I don’t understand what your Mother is about this time, but I believe we can keep her happy, find you a temporary job, and solve Ned’s current problem, all in one fell swoop and without endangering your engagement, provided you’re willing – and able.”
Julia shot him a bemused look. “Anything that will stop this ridiculous crusade of Mother’s will be fine with me.”
“Staff are hard to come by at the moment,” said John. “Especially with temporary work. Edward is currently up near Newcastle, completing business matters for me, and he could use a secretary. If you’re interested, I’ll put you through your paces now. If not – if it’s too far away, with your fiancé in town – not to worry. I’ll find some way of dissuading Hanne!”
Julia bit her lip, hesitating a few inches from the desk, and before giving a shrug and breaking into a laugh. She sat in front of the typewriter and raised her chin. “Oh, you won’t have any complaint. I’m pretty decent, I promise. My one real weakness is cheeking Miss Williams, and I trust I shall be safe from any danger of that in the wilds of the north!”
Edward shifted his hold on the telephone receiver, leaning forward to catch a pile of paper before it toppled off the desk and missed his father’s next words. “What was that, sorry?”
“I said, have you found someone to do the clerical work yet?”
Edward bit back a sigh. “I’m going to call the agency in Newcastle again. I’m sorry, I’ve been a little distracted and it’s not easy to find someone willing to come all the way out here – and stay. Look, may I talk to you about Matthews? We’re still having problems on that front –”
“Of course,” said John on the other end, “but the point is, I’ve found someone. If you’re willing, she can start on Thursday. Julia Graves – you know, Hanne’s daughter.”
Edward frowned, instantly wary of good fortune. “I do need someone who can actually type, you know. If this is a charity case –”
“Ned,” said his father, sounding affronted. “I hope you would know me better than that. She seems a capable young lady to me. Of course, if you would rather select someone yourself, that is your prerogative. It merely seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone – Julia needs some temporary work and you need a clerical assistant. There is what you might call a third bird, but that shouldn’t be of any importance.”
Edward kicked himself. After all, his father could be said to have made his whole business a means of helping people out constructively while also making a profit where he could. Finding someone who could fill in as secretary here who was also a family friend in need of help was typical of him. Of course, whether or not Julia Graves would be willing to stay in a remote Northumberland village only time would tell. Five other temporary clerical workers had not.
“Sorry,” Edward said. “Of course. Thursday. Thank you, Father.”
John, on the other end, relaxed. Edward could hear the smile in his voice. “Good. Now, what is this about Matthews again?”
Edward needed no further prompting, and the subject occupied the rest of the telephone call. It was only after replacing the receiver in its cradle that he realised he’d never asked his father what he meant by that third bird comment.
Still, as long as Julia Graves could type, what did anything else matter?
***